Project #366 Week 30

This week has been a scorcher- 29 and up. It might not seem too high to some of you who are used to higher temperatures, but you have to take into account the humidity factor of living on an island:-)

Sunday 22nd July 2012

It's nice to be on holiday this week and today is warm and sunny. I spent part of the day in the garden and really did very little. Cairis was given a graduation gift of a watch in the form of the snitch from the Harry Potter stories.

Monday 23rd July 

With time to spare, I decided to count out the loose change in my coin sorter, bag it and take it to the bank. It is amazing how the small change in your pocket adds up.It was also a good time to buy some sterling for the trip.

Tuesday 24th 

Packing for tomorrow. We decided to just take one suitcase between us, as we were only going for a couple of days, and we had one big enough for everything, including M's suit.  We had a potter around the town where I finally found something to wear- nothing like leaving it to the last minute :-) We looked in Mother Earth which sells one-of-a-kind ethnic clothes which Cairis loves. I spent more money on her than I did on myself- nothing new there!

Cairis is starting to be excited.  For a bit of exercise we walked up the Mont de la Ville, to Fort Regent.

Wednesday 25th

Off to the airport, where the plane left on time for London. On arrival, we headed for the car hire depot and took possession of what Cairis named the 'MOB'car. It was a black Vauxhall, with tinted windows :-)

After about 40 minutes of driving we arrived at our accommodation. I found an old pub with accommodation on the internet,  and it was extremely good. The food was super and made from local produce, the real ale was local and the room was a delight, although the temperature was in the 30s and there was no air-conditioning!  We unpacked and headed down to the garden for a cold drink and met this cheeky piggy. He had 'It's sausage O'clock' on his back, as the pub does a Happy Hour with free local sausages once a week.














Thursday 26th

Graduand

Nice robes

Graduation day. We decided to do a recce after breakfast, just to make sure we knew where to go later. The countryside was green and leafy and the houses timbered and thatched. It took about 30minutes to drive to the Cathedral in the end. We returned to the hotel to get changed and headed out for real. Cairis had organised a parking permit for the afternoon at the University of Surrey, which is next door to Guildford Cathedral where the ceremony was being held. Cairis had to queue for her robes and then have her photos taken. The ceremony was very well thought out and uplifting. Dame Jacqueline Wilson conferred the degrees on the graduands, who then, as graduates, walked down the aisle of the cathedral to the applause of family and friends. The university then laid on a reception for the graduates and their families, which gave us a chance to meet the parents of some of her friends, and some of the tutors, too.

Graduate

Friends together

Friday 27th July

Note the date- which I clearly hadn't checked carefully when I booked the tickets:-(  On arrival at the airport- with not too much time to spare, we discovered that our tickets thought we were flying home on 27th August!! Oops!

The lovely man on the customer services desk at Flybe helped us sort out the problem, and we were able to fly home slightly later than we had expected.

Along with most of the world, I watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in the evening. The best fun was setting up a twitter hashtag so that we could keep the PLN comments together. It made the experience very enjoyable to be so connected with friends around the world.
Saturday 28th

This morning we received the proposal from the building company who are going to repair/ renew our door. Although the quote is not cheap we have told them to go ahead and do it. In a few days we'll have the door boarded up while they make a new one and transfer the leaded glass into it. As you can see from the photos, the bottom of the inside is rotten and the outside has been replaced at some time with a plain sheet of ply, instead of the panels which should be there.
Watch this space- the company has promised that it will look fabulous when it's done.

Project #366 Week 29

What a busy week this has been. It seems as though everything happened at once- and fortunately the weather played ball. Looking back, I seem to have been snap-happy this week.  I didn't manage to limit myself to only one photo per day, but I had lots of fun and some interesting experiences:-)

Sunday 15th July 2012

Today the Olympic torch came to Jersey. The Avenue was thronged with spectators cheering on the runners and every Parish got involved in one way or another.

 I decided to avoid the area, and headed North instead, in the direction of Durell, our world famous wildlife preservation trust. They were trying to raise money for the rainforest and wanted to see whether they could collect 250,000 aluminium cans in one day- the record  already being set at 158,000. I gathered up my collection to add to the pile. Unfortunately, we were later told that they had fallen short of their target- but it was the first time they had tried it, so maybe next year they will do it.

Greek salad

Toasted Feta and walnut salad

In the evening, I invited friends round to celebrate M's birthday, and we finally had the yummy cake I made from Chiew's recipe. I made a couple of Greek salads and we ate them with marinaded chicken breasts and pitta bread.

                                                         Monday 16th July

Today was the actual birthday and it was also St Helier Day. Our pro-cathedral, the Town Church, is dedicated to him and there is an annual pilgrimage from the church to the hermitage where he lived. The  church  is celebrating by having a flower festival inside. We went in to have a look, and the flower displays were beautiful.

Tuesday 17th 
Flowers certainly seem to be a theme this week. Everywhere I look there are hanging baskets and street displays. No wonder Jersey is often called L'isle fleurie. Even the big euro-bins are hidden behind flowers in the centre of town.

                                                                        Wednesday 18th

More flowers today. This time it was the turn of the Central Market. Prince Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, paid a visit to the island today. I was at work, so I didn't actually see him myself- but some of my students played truant and one of them shook his hand- and says she'll never wash it :-)

The market was going to be on the tour list, so the central fountain was decorated.

Thursday 19th

Jersey Crapaud

I decided to wander down into town to look for a frock for next week. The mother of the graduate would like to look smart in the photos too :-) I didn't find anything that set me on fire, so I abandoned the search and decided to meet my friend for a coffee instead. She offered to give me her opinion at the weekend, so I'll wait until then to spend my money. We met near Charing Cross, where there is a curious statue of a toad on a pole decorated with mediaeval curses. Jersey people are known as Crapauds, or toads, and Guernsey people as as donkeys. I'll explain  why another time.

Friday  20th 

Gaia

Next Wave

End of the week, and time to start thinking about my break:-) I heard on the radio that a Viking ship was coming into the harbour from Norway. Her name is Gaia, and she is a replica of a ship found in a boat grave.. I popped down to the harbour to have a look at her. She is rendezvousing with a couple of other vessels before making her way to the UK in time for the Olympics, next week. One of the other boats was already in port, a sail training ship called Next Wave, run by a Christian charity for youngsters.

Later we went down to the pub to meet our musician friends for a jam session. This time it was the Farmer's Inn, in St Ouen.

Saturday 21st

Officially on holiday now, yay!! And the summer has decided to arrive properly. Met up in town to recommence the dress shopping- I really don't enjoy going in and out of shops on warm days :-(        We started in the shops around the Royal Square, and there were pigeons everywhere. This is the centre of St Helier and the site of our Parliament, known as The States. At one end is a plinth with a golden statue of King George.

Project #366 Week 28

Well, that's the half-way mark passed, so we're on the homeward strait now :-) Weather this week was weird - every morning started with rain, and every afternoon was bright and sunny! Very much an in-and-around-home week where my pictures are concerned.

Sunday 8th July 2012

Today the sun shone- in direct contrast to yesterday. Managed to  do some gardening , took a drive to the recycling centre and drove out to the honesty box for my weekly flowers. On returning home I put the car away and noticed that the Parish crests had been repainted. I live in St Saviour, which is just over a  waterline separating it from St Helier. This is where the Parishes divide.



Monday 9th July

I am always impressed by people's ingenuity, especially when it comes to finding ways to have plants with no garden. As I walk back from the supermarket I usually look at the flat tucked in the corner of a local commercial complex. I nicknamed the old man who lives there 'Jack' , as every year he manages to grow an impressive beanstalk from a scrubby piece of land at the edge of the car park- right up to his balcony, and it has a surprisingly good yield, too:-)

Tuesday 10th July
When I finished work today I decided to de-flea the cats. They don't enjoy it, and I hate chasing them  down to do it. Unfortunately, it looks as though I was a bit slow and Maisie was beginning to scratch
( The vet later said that it was a problem caused by the bizarre weather, and everyone seems to have a slight problem). I bought a couple of flea killer bombs, and decided to take the family out for pizza while they got to work in the house. The view from the car park was wonderful as we returned  home.What a lovely sunset- but no red sky promising a good day for Wednesday.

Wednesday 11th July

Today I went to the gym after work and someone was having a jewellery sale on a table in the gym. I had a look, but as I don't wear much, I took a photo to show my friends- and was able to go back and buy some the next day on their behalf. It does pay to carry a camera around with me:-)

Thursday 12th July

My husband's birthday is at the beginning of next week, and I ordered some bits online to give him as presents. They arrived at the house today, in an enormous box- NOT very discreet! I decided that the best thing would be to wrap the things there and then, hide the gifts, and get rid of the box.

Friday 13th

My daughter loves Friday 13th, as she was born on one, and we have a black cat, so there is no point in being superstitious in our house. Today I said goodbye to some more of my students. One of the Hungarian Au pairs was returning home, and brought in some delicacies from her country for her teachers and classmates. They were mildly alcoholic, which meant that the afternoon lessons were a bit silly :-) In the evening we met up with the other musicians in a pub on the East of the island and noticed that Colin had bought himself some bongos. There was a lot of  good-natured ribbing but I don't know if he'll bring them out in the future :-)

Saturday 14th

separated egg yolks 

Chopped nuts

whisked egg whites

ready to bake

I'm planning a birthday party for tomorrow night and decided to try out Chiew's recipe for chocolate cake to die for:-) My friend is gluten intolerant, and this cake doesn't need flour.  Thanks Chiew !!









Her husband is a thespian, and tonight we are going to the Arts Centre to see him in his latest play. The island French natives are celebrating the 'Quatorze Juillet' round the corner, in the Lieutenant Governor's residence, so it's actually a good idea to go out :-)